Truman Doctrine is the name given to a foreign policy implemented during the Truman government and aimed at the bloc of capitalist countries in the pre-Cold War period. This doctrine was intended to prevent the expansion of socialism, especially in capitalist nations considered to be fragile.
With the end of World War II, Europe was destroyed and weakened politically and economically, with it emerged two world powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, which represented capitalism and socialism, respectively.
Upon coming out of the war, the Soviet Union aspired to expand the role of socialism, starting with Eastern Europe. Noticing the expansion of socialism, led by the Soviets, the British Winston Churchill began to motivate all capitalists to create strategies in order to contain this advance.
The US government has declared support for this initiative, President Harry S. Truman, on March 12, 1947, delivered an aggressive speech before the National Congress, stating that capitalist countries should defend themselves from the socialist threat.
From this declaration, the Truman Doctrine was consolidated, and, for some scholars, the Cold War began, spreading a rivalry between capitalists and socialists around the world.
One of the first American initiatives was to offer financial help for the reconstruction of Europe (through the plan Marshall), fearing that this support might come from the Soviets, which would mean the implantation of socialism in Western Europe. The US president offered loans to Greece and Turkey, as long as they implemented policies in favor of Western nations, that is, capitalism.
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By Eduardo de Freitas
Graduated in Geography
Brazil School Team
General geography - geography - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PERCILIA, Eliene. "Truman Doctrine"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/doutrina-truman.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
